Cold Days

by iCeTeRiX

Friends...?

Really now, what would you expect from someone who is apparently as cold as ice? Oh, how I wished something that happened in a lot of stories could've happened to me, but they just didn't. Of course, I'd love to have the kind of friends that would always be there even when they're not, the ones who can always support you when you're in a pinch, ponies who will comfort you when you're feeling down...but yeah, from what you can already tell, I don't have much to offer in the field of Friendship. It's always been like that ever since I was just a foal growing up in Saddle Arabia.

My first-ever friend, Crimson Spirit, is a good example. I met him when we finally moved from mom and dad's home country into SA and we hit it off pretty quickly since we lived in the same building as his family did. He was a pegasus pony that just loved racing anyone, be it on land or air and he was honestly the fastest pony I've ever seen, well, until I saw that rainbow-maned pegasus though. She made a sonic boom by just flying, that takes some serious muscle and magic. We drifted apart when he had other foals to play with his age in school so he just forgot about me at some point. I still wonder what he's up to these days. Maybe I should write him a letter...

I was always reluctant when it came down to talking to other ponies I wasn't comfortable with, so I would usually wait until they ask something from me or I would overcome that if I needed something from them. It was a good method, at least in primary school, since we were all just still foals and fillies and a bit shy from others we don't know as well. I then had a few other friends thanks to this method, like Cebel, who I became friends with for some reason. Cebel's a unicorn with a knack for art, but never did anything serious with it, because he had some confidence issues to deal with. I can't really remember how I befriended him but it was in later years in school where we really tightened our friendship. He's a good friend, but not the kind to rush to your side when you need him, due to him being a bit of a shut-in like me.

Yeah, shocking right? Me? A shut-in? How could I possibly have no friends as an introvert? Sarcasm aside, I just happened to grow up like that. I never really got out of the house much even if I wanted to, my parents insisted on me not always leaving the house unless we needed to buy something. Saddle Arabia apparently has a lot of ponies who are a bit, let's say extreme with their customs and beliefs so if you did something against it, you would end up in prison just for that. So I thought it would be safer at home too, besides, have you been to the desert? It's way too hot there and the houses in SA usually come with an air-cooling machine.

But honestly, no friend is better than a rival. And I'd like to think that we all had one growing up, may it be in sports, academics, or just our talents. My rival, Moon Spring, was a relaxed and smart earth pony, whom I always seemed to compete with when it came down to it. Honestly, I could have taken him down if I really tried, but, I wanted the spotlight to be on someone else for a change and not always me. The reason for that is because Moon came to our school in our middle school years, and he's stuck with us ever since. I was always the go-to candidate when it came to talent shows, quiz bees and other competitions they usually do in schools, but after a while I really got fed up with it, all that pressure and stress to not mess up this line, to remember the tune, to know this answer, and like that I just snapped and started slacking off when I met Moon. Because I saw my replacement and I wasn't wrong, he bested me in every category you could think of and so we became rivals in a sense. Moon always had a knack for reading other ponies and he knew later on that I was just taking it easy, which he took as a challenge to best me when it came time to pick our universities. Which he did, so hat's off to you pal...

Most of my friends who I grew fond of in high school just faded away, or maybe it's the other way around. I tried getting in touch with them, but they were always busy with their own thing that eventually I just stopped and let stuff happen. I just became another memory for all of them that they would all look back on and probably wonder what I was up to. Not that they would do anything about their curiosity, I know better than anyone that I don't make much of an impact to anypony I meet and so they won't remember me for long. Like I said, my name became even more of a perfect match for me when I grew up, just a cold breeze passing by others' lives.

Now don't get me started on my love-life...that's for another time...